'People are irritated when he is celebrating... but that energy is food for his team' - Lewis Moody
World Cup winner Lewis Moody is urging England to launch a French version of the Kamikaze Kids on the Rugby World Cup following Ben Earl’s “stellar” performance in the win over Japan.
Four year’s ago Tom Curry and Sam Underhill joined forces to earn the “Kamikaze Kids” title as they helped power England into the final against South Africa.
With Curry currently banned, Earl has not only accepted the role of delivering intensely physical hits, he has also operated at No8. Curry missed the Japan game and must also sit out the clash with Chile but the pair could be put together to face Samoa before the knock out stages and Moody is urging Steve Borthwick to take that route completing the back row with captain Courtney Lawes.
Earl’s performance against Japan didn’t earn him the official man of the match award which went to George Ford despite the Saracens forward making 12 tackles, 14 carries and 11 passes while amassing 74 metres with ball in hand including the most effective run on the wing by an England player in the match.
Moody, who won 71 England caps and led the team during the 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign, said: “Ben put in a stellar performance and it means Steve (Borthwick) has a difficult decision about Billy Vunipola. I would be 100 per cent in favour of playing Ben and Tom together because it is about having your best players on the pitch. That means Billy missing out for me.
“It worked well in Japan with Sam and Tom and I was big fan of them because they complimented each other. I think Ben and Tom will be the same and it is about picking players who are confident and on form rather than players who are lacking form and hoping they come good in the game because they have in the past.
“Courtney is the go to man on the blind side and it feels as if Tom will be the man to be No7 when he is back and quite right and Ben has done enough in these games to warrant a starting place. Why wouldn’t you have someone as dynamic and explosive as Ben in the team and able to play in the wide spaces. That would be my choice rather than going back to type and hitting Billy up time and time again in the short areas.
“Ben’s stats are really good from the Japan game and when we got him into space you could suddenly see what England are capable of and what those players can create. It is frustrating that the space was there but was used in a very different way in the first 60 minutes.”
Moody does not agree that Earl’s very theatrical reaction to a turnovers over won by England or a penalty award is over the top and enjoys the positivity he feels it generates for a team still trying to find its best form.
He added: “What I love about Ben is that energy is reflective and on the pitch his energy is enormous and some people are irritated when he is celebrating a penalty at a scrum or line out but that energy is food for his team around him. People thrive off that and if you are turning up and putting hits in and getting the turnovers then others are thinking “we need to feed off that a bit more” and go with him. Individuals like Ben can be hugely influential in a team.
“I was wondering if Ben was going to get a chance (with England) after his form at club level for Saracens and Bristol and at international level coaches go with players who they trust. Historically, they will stick with those players until they really have to change and we have got to that stage with Ben who didn’t get many chances under Eddie Jones and Steve has had his hand forced to a degree.
“England have got themselves out of the mire after the struggles before this tournament, conceding tries and kicking the ball away every time they got it and scoring very few tries. They have rectified a lot of that bar the trying scoring, accepting they got four against Japan. They still have a lot more to do in attack and you must pick the guys on form and that may mean changing the team.
“Physicality is seen in every game and the Islands nations all have that with Fiji leaps and bounds ahead from Samoa but remember they held Ireland to a narrow defeat before the Cup started. All the games are brutal but the way the Samoan game has evolved the flying recklessly has been taken away. Against Chile and Samoa, England need to choose the right tactics to win that particular game and that is what they have been doing.”
After the opening games of the pool stages Moody is backing France to emerge as the champions for the first time although he believes England are on course for the semi-finals and then like 2007 anything could happen. “I love the French and the intent they showed against New Zealand; “ he said.
“That was a phenomenal start and having played against France, who were a nightmare to play against and a ruthless bunch, I find myself rooting for them. Shaun Edwards defence is impressive and their attack is free flowing. I would love the Irish to do well but feel they will come unstuck in the semis and so France and South Africa are my bets for the final. Could England make the final – absolutely. But, are they playing well enough to beat those sides? No for me at the moment. In 2007 making the final felt like a victory in itself.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to comments